We are Orange Street Cats, past and present. I am Little Grace. I am an original Orange Street Cat. This is my blog. I have a story to tell and so do my buddies. Orange Street Cats saved us. Read on and you will see why.
Orange Street Cats is a not-for-profit cat organization.
See our website: http://orangestreetcats.org and follow us on Facebook!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Chance talks Fostering

Hi! Little Grace here! Chance wants to talk to everyone about fostering. She is my best friend so I will happily let her take over the blog. As you will read, I had to intervene a couple of times. You don't know who Chance is? See this post and this one and this one.Blinks and Purrs!Little GraceHi! I am Chance! My Suzanne calls me Chanty or Chant Chant. My Guy calls me Chickety Chant. I am an original Orange Street Cat. I am only one of the 88 cats that Orange Street Cats rescued. It was tough at that "other place". That is all I want to say about that. You know why? I don't have to live there anymore! This place....my new home is....there aren't any words really to describe it. It is a new world! It is warm and safe and happy and calm. We have fun. We talk and play and nap. My Suzanne and My Guy just get me, ya know? They know my favorite toys.

My favorite toys!

They know how I like to play. They know what makes me purr and what makes me mad. They let me be me, ya know? Just me. They get me. AND they let me be clean-up crew....

Sometimes, my Suzanne comes home from somewhere with a new toy for me! She greets me every morning and makes a point to have special time with just me. Sometimes she picks me up and says "I know you hate this but I love it!" I struggle a little bit just for effect but I actually do like it. Don't tell her!!!! She tells me that she is proud of me and that I am brave. She thanks me for helping and protecting Little Grace. What she doesn't know is that Little Grace helps and protects me too. My favorite things to do in this order: Eating, Sleeping, playing. My least favorite things: Getting my nails clipped, someone touching my belly, and empty food bowls. Ok, I am done now.Little Grace: Chance you are supposed to talk about fostering, remember?Oh! Right! I got carried away. Did you see my toy picture? In case anyone is wondering, I like soft toys that I can carry around. You can mail them to me at...Little Grace: Chance! We are here to discuss Orange Street Cats, not your toy addiction. Focus......today's topic please?Yes! Yes! Of course! Fostering.I am an expert on fostering because I was a foster cat. So was Little Grace and Cleo and Wendell. I know a lot of others too. Fiona, Gypsy (twice, now that is a story!), Friday, Mavis, AW. All foster cats. You see, being a foster cat means that I have a safe and "normal" place to be where I can learn how to be a cat in a regular household. Being in a cage (or crate as my Mom is telling me to write) is not where I learned about warm beds, toys, and loving hands. I learned these things as a foster cat. In a cage (I mean crate) I was a rescue cat. As a rescue cat, I was mostly safe but kinda scared. I saw some regular faces and they were always nice to me but they came to take care of many of us. They did care about us but they had a job to do, keep us safe, fed, and clean while they tried so hard to figure out the next steps. Please do not misunderstand, the volunteers saved me as a rescue cat. My Suzanne and My Guy saved me as a foster cat.

As a foster cat, I learned how to trust the humans. I mean really trust them. I learned about different house noises like the vacuum, the dryer, the dishwasher, doors opening and closing, the shower, the furnace, stuff like that. I also learned about light time and dark time (Mom said day time and night time, I don't understand the reference). Humans go to work at certain times and come home at certain times. I learned how to eat properly in a safe environment and not to "help myself" to someone else's food. I also learned what my Mom calls "manners". My Suzanne taught me that it was not ok to use my nails to scratch on stuff. I was given a cardboard scratching thing that I destroy (I mean love!) All these things and much, much more, I learned as a foster cat, not a rescue cat. So you see....I am an expert!I am sure my Mom can tell you about the experience from a human perspective. So ...Suzanne....tell us in just a few sentences because I am in the spotlight here!Suzanne: Thank you Chance. Fostering for me has been very rewarding and special. Knowing that you have helped a cat become more of who she (or he) was destined to be is special. The daily "wins" are tremendous. This has been a learning experience for me too. Each cat is so different! I have learned patience and to really "listen" to the needs of each cat. All my fosters have been a joy. Yes, there are some that you keep. I don't consider that a foster failure. I consider it another step in my journey as a human. Ok Chance?Yes. Great. Where is the part where you tell everyone that I am your favorite? Never mind, I will tell them. I am her favorite!So here is the deal....remember Radley's post "The Scoop"? Well, Orange Street Cats has several cats in the pipeline that need foster families. There are at least 8 that are ready or very soon to be ready. Most are teenagers or adult cats. Some are well on their way and may need only a couple of weeks. There are a couple that will need more work. Foster timing varies....every cat is different! I have seen ones that were in foster for 2 weeks and some for 5 months (ehhh hemmm, that was me and little Grace). All you need to do is commit to helpinga cat or two! You will need a safe space like an office, extra bedroom, or playroom (Orange Street Cats cats are not allowed outside!). You will need to care for the cat and bring him/her to adoption day events. Orange Street Cats pays for food, litter, and vet care. See this for more information. So.....what do you think? Do you have room in your house and in your heart? Maybe you can be the turning point in a cats life. Foster! Foster! Foster!Until next time, my new friends (take another look at the toy picture...soft toys....)-Chance